Air cooling apparatus



Nov. 17, 1970 P. H, BUNTEN 3,540,229

AIR COOLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet l CAPACITOR INVENTOR PAUL H. BU/VTE/V arT om ATTORNEY Nov. 17, 1970 P. H. BUNTEN 3,540,229

AIR COOLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1969 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE/V TOR 3 "P401. H. au/vrs/v 9T LOW? ATTORNEY Nov. 17, 1970 P. H. BUNTEN 3,540,229

AIR COOLING APPARATUS M/VE/VTOI? PAUL H. BUA/TE/V 3,540,229 Am COOLING APPARATUS Paul H. Bunteu, Rytlal, Pa. Repco Products Corp., 7400 State Road, Philadelphia, Pa. 19136) Filed Jan. 24, 1969, Ser. No. 793,7 Int. Cl. B63b 25/26 US. Cl. 62-240 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to air cooling apparatus particularly for boats which is constructed of corrosion resistant material, is internally mounted within the boat and uses water from that surrounding the boat for cooling.

Description of the prior art The use of air coolers or conditioners for cooling of air in homes and cars has grown considerably in recent years and demand for a good air cooler has now spread to the boating industry.

Air coolers or conditioners as used in homes are not satisfactory for use in boats, for several reasons one of which is that the materials of which they are constructed are subject to corrosion and the resultant service life in boats is usually but a few weeks.

In addition the units available use excessive amounts of electricity which is often not present on the boats or dockside, do not operate satisfactorily for cooling without ventilation and under the conditions present on boats must be extemally mounted thereby interfering with safe operation and appearance of the boat.

The present air cooling apparatus is corrosion resistant, is mounted entirely within the boat, uses less electricity than previously available boat coolers and is water cooled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention air cooling apparatus for boats is provided which is water cooled, internally mounted within the boat, totallly self-contained, operates economically and is constructed of corrosion resistant materials.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus particularly suitable for use on boats.

A further object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus that is water cooled, with its own self contained water pumping system.

A further object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus of low electricity consumption and suitable for operation from the power supply of a boat.

A further object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus totally self contained with its own water pumping system, and that is mounted anywhere en tirely within the boat.

A further object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus that is resistant to corrosion.

A further object of the present invention is to provide air cooling apparatus for boats that uses a single electric motor, to pump the coolant water, and to move the air through the apparatus.

United States Patent Q ice Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the air cooling apparatus of the present invention removed from the boat;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the air cooling apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, with the top cover removed;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken approximately on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional View, taken approximately on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken approximately on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 66 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cutaway View of the water exchange portion of the air cooling aparatus, and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the electrical circuit used with the apparatus of the present invention.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the air cooler apparatus is of rectangular box like shape having an outer cabinet 9 comprised of top and bottom walls 10 and 11, side walls 12, rear wall 14 and front wall 15.

The front Wall 15 is provided with two grill portions 16 and 17. The grill portion 16 is the inlet grill and has a plurality of large openings 18 to permit warm air to be cooled to flow into the interior 20 of the cabinet 9. The grill portion 17 is the outlet grill through which the cooled air flows from interior 20 and is preferably composed of any desired material.

The bottom wall 11 has a motor 25 mounted thereto by vertical flanges 26. The motor 25 is connected to an electrical source (not shown) by power cord 27 through the circuit shown in FIG. 8 to be described below.

The motor 25 for this embodiment is a one twelfth horsepower volt motor of very high starting torque design which at the forward end of the shaft as shown in FIG. 2 carries a fan 28 of a type to provide positive pressure within the cabinet 9 and thereby cool the compressor 61 and for drawing warm air through grill 16 into and through the interior of the cabinet 9 and over the evaporator 50 and out through the grill 17 as cooled air. The fan 28 combines the desirable characteristics of both the squirrel cage and the propeller types with reduced noise and compactness.

At the rear end of the shaft of the motor 25 a water pump 30 is provided attached to the motor 25, the pump 30 is of conventional positive displacement self priming type, and constructed of corrosion resistant material so that it can be used with both salt and fresh water.

The pump 30 has an inlet pipe 32 and an outlet pipe 33 attached to it. The inlet pipe 32 extends to a water scoop and exchange member 34 which is mounted through the hull 35 of a boat (not shown) below the water line. The member 34 as shown in FIG. 7 is of cylindrical shape retained to the hull 35 by nut 31 and with a head portion 36 which is external to the hull 35 and has an inlet pas- 3 sage 37 therein at the top with a screen 38. The passage 37 extends through the member 34 to and connects to the pipe 32 to supply filtered cool water thereto. The outlet pipe 33 extends from the pump to a condenser 40.

The condenser is comprised of a plurality of coils of pipe 41 and as shown in FIG. 6 is of double wall construction with an interior passageway. 42 carrying the water from the pipe 33 and an outer passageway 43 carrying the refrigerant material. A horizontal partition 44 may be provided in the cabinet 9 to isolate the condenser 40 from the air moving thereabove.

An outlet pipe 45 connects to the condenser 40 to carry hot water to the head 36 of member 34 wherein it is discharged through passageway 46 to the body of water surrounding the boat (not shown).

The refrigerant utilized in the condenser 40 and else where may be of any suitable type such as refrigerant 22 or other desired refrigerant.

The condenser 40 which contains the heated refrigerant in the outer passageway 43 is reduced to a low temperature by the cool water passing therethrough and combined with the high pressure of the refrigerant condenses the material so that it is in a liquid state. The condenser 40 has a capillary tube expansion device 48 connecting it to one side of an evaporator 50.

The evaporator 50 is composed of several coils of pipe 52 which extend across the front wall 15 in back of the grill 17 and are mounted within a plurality of fins 53 which permits a greater surface area for cooling. The evaporator 50 is mounted to brackets 55 and has a bafiie plate 57 attached below and downwardly inclined within interior 20 to guide the air flowing in grill 16 over and out past evaporator 50 in contact therewith for cooling and through grill 17.

The liquid refrigerant under pressure when introduced into the evaporator expands into a gaseous state, the process thereby absorbing large quantities of heat and cooling the coils of pipe 52 and the fins 53.

The other end of evaporator 50 is connected by pipe 60 to compressor 61. The compressor 61 is of conventional sealed type and is designed to compress the gaseous refrigerant from the evaporator and force it into the condenser 46 by pipe 62 connected to the compressor 61 and to the condenser 40. The capillary tube 48 provides for control of expansion of the refrigerant for cooling.

The water circulating in the condenser 40 cools the refrigerant so that it is liquified and then flows into the evaporator 50 as previously described.

The electrical circuit is shown in FIG. 8 and includes an electrical power source (not shown) with a two wire cord 27 connected thereto and by lead 101 to a common junction 102.

A lead 103 connects from the common junction 102 to one side of a compressor motor 104 which is connected on the other side by lead 105 to a normally open switch SW1 and by lead 106 to cord 27. The compressor motor 104 has a capacitor 107 attached thereto to aid in starting.

A lead 110 connects from the junction 102 to one side of the fan and pump motor 25 which has a capacitor 111 attached thereto and is connected by lead 112 through 60 fuse 114 to a thermostat 115. The thermostat 115 is of well known type and connected by lead to normally open switch SW2 which is connected to lead 105 and therefrom to a source of electrical energy. The thermostat 115 as shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a knob below grill 16 on wall 15. The switches SW1 and SW2 are combined in a 3 position switch (not shown) with knob 126 and which provides an off position, a fan only position and combined fan and water pump position.

It is thus apparent that structure has been provided with which the objects of the invention are attained.

I claim:

1. Air conditioning apparatus for use in boats comprising, as a self contained unit,

an outer cabinet with air inlet and outlet openings,

a motor driven compressor within the cabinet,

an evaporator and a condenser in said cabinet in series with the compressor,

water cooling means for said condenser,

a self priming liquid pump in said cabinet for circulating water in said water cooling means,

a fan in said cabinet for delivering air from said air inlet and through said air outlet opening in contact therebetween with said evaporator, and

driving means in said cabinet for said pump and said fan.

2. Air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said driving means is an electric motor.

3. Air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said motor is interposed between said fan and said pump.

4. Air conditioning apparatu as defined in claim 3 in which said fan and said pump are directly connected to a common motor shaft.

5. Air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which a partition is provided at the lower part of said cabinet,

and

said compressor is disposed above said partition, and

said condenser is disposed below said partition and below said compressor.

6. Air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said condenser includes a refrigerant carrying tube outside a cooling water carrying tube.

7. Air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 6 having fluid connections extending from said cooling water carrying tube to the exterior of the boat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,272 5/ 1956 Carpenter 62240 2,748,572 6/1956 Parcaro 62506 2,945,362 7/1960 Gould 62262 2,966,779 1/1961 Lintery 62240 3,111,013 11/1963 AInInOnS 62240 WILLIAM I. WYE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 62-262, 506 

